armoristan - 1) Andronikos has a lot of potential, but he's only ten. Heraklios had alot of potential as well... and he didn't get very far.
2) Probably more genetics from the man who begat the orange event...
Basilieus44 - Ambitious doesn't begin to describe it. Given enough labor, even with that tech level it could be done... but that amount of labor (and resources required) would likely kill the empire. (No grain fleet for Konstantinopolis? We saw what happened last time the grain fleet was badly disrupted...)
Alan de Lane - Yes, in this timeline if he ascends to the throne he would be Andronikos I.
RGB - Oh yes. And I have no doubt Thomas might follow his illustrious predecessor in having the Marmara whipped if it didn't cooperate and collapsed several of his dams...
Kirsch27 - Yes, draining the Marmara. The whole thing... all upteen hundred square miles of water. Without dealing with the drainage from the Black Sea. Yeah.
Hawkeye1489 - Firstly, thank you for the compliments. GRRM is one of my favorite authors, and to be even compared to him is a high honor. Andronikos definitely has swagger, and yes, he could end up like Basil and losing that youthful superiority to become a wiser man. Hopefully it doesn't take a tragedy like Menorca for him to learn that lesson, however.
AlexanderPrimus - Yes, he's only still 11. He could learn to hate playing music, he could become a drunk, he could catch a disease and die, he could be assassinated... there's no telling where he could end up.
humacalculator - Now if Andronikos were right all of the time, that'd require Kwitzach Haderach level of prescience. As Andronikos has not yet tasted the Water of Life, it's a safe guess that he won't be right 100% of the time. What he does in those times when his first instinct isn't right will determine whether he'll be great, or a disaster, or if he becomes emperor at all.
Fulcrumvale - (Again, the mantra, lol) He's only 11, so he's got a lot to learn. If he takes the lessons of life to heart before a testing time comes (whether if that is near at hand or a long time away), he could be something special. But if he doesn't, yes, a headstrong, arrogant man is the last person you'd want running a convoluted empire. One thing Andie does have on his side is that his uncle is still relatively young... Nikephoros in 1258 is sill only 36. Fortune willing, he easily has another decade on the throne, barring disaster, and that's another decade for Andie to learn to face the world and his own shortfalls.
Nenekhara - Aw, what's wrong with Cecilia? Latins need lovin' too!
If Asbjorn and Thomas became friends... oh lordy, the things that would be built...
asd21593 - He's made a friend, one who apparently can knock him off his pedestal and then some.
von Sachsen - He has potential to be a Manuel, but without the... sociopathic... tendencies. As far as we know.
As for France, that'd be a MASSIVE endeavor. France might be shakier than it was during the days of Drogo, but the French king can still call on lords from Linconshire to Languedoc. Romanion has a far larger and far better trained army, but projecting all that power into an invasion of France and England--that'll take a mighty big man to attempt THAT kind of endeavor!
FlyingDutchie - If Andronikos keeps being himself, he's certainly going to make enemies that way. As for Thomas, Albrecht just snapped. He couldn't handle it diplomatically any more because Thomas just didn't get it...
Tommy4ever - Andie is rather belligerent, but he's also ten. Ten year olds think most problems are simply solved. Age had a tendency to break children of that habit, but if it doesn't, we could have another Thomas I on our hands (invade them all!)...
c0d5579 - Oh, the project certainly could be done using technology of the day, its just that investment of resources would be so vast it would likely cause the overthrow of the central government (either through bankruptcy, or riots from people in Konstantinopolis who want their bread from the missing grain fleet...)
Saithis - I think this is a record. Two replies in a row?
Enewald - If Thomas had Legos, he would probably die of malnutrition. I doubt the man would eat, or sleep, for want of playing with them...
Vesimir - There's a lot to like... he's cultured, he's clearly smart. He's also vain and has maybe a bit of a superiority complex, but there's time to mend that...
...or is there?
Nikolai -Success is the fine line between genius and madness. Time will tell which side of the line Andie leaps towards.
4th Dimension - Oh yez. Sortmark wants its territories, Tommy (4?) wants his dad's crown, and Segeo wants respect. Will Albie and Nikky be able to adequately meet all three challenges at once? We shall see.
I have an outline done for the next update, nothing more. I might get a chance to work on it in earnest Sunday, but probably not before. It'll probably be up next Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how things unfold...
EDIT - Fixed some syntax silliness on my part. Bleh. Dumb keyboard. It's obviously the keyboard's fault.
